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Goddard Group 2007: The Making of the World's Greatest Attractions!

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Macau, China – Gary Goddard, Chairman/CEO of Hollywood, CA-based Gary Goddard Entertainment + Design (GGE), was tasked with providing the Conceptual Design, Master Planning, Architectural Design, and Exterior Design for the brand new Studio City, a $3.2 billion casino and resort in Macau, which was unveiled on October 27, 2015. This is the second multi-billion dollar project designed by GGE in Macau – the first being the design of the award winning Galaxy Macau Resort which opened to the public in 2011.

GGE is an international leader in the design of major integrated resorts and destination theme parks worldwide. Studio City is a unique, Hollywood-inspired 600,000-square-meter casino and resort that will offer visitors the next generation of leisure destination experiences. Leigh and Orange are the architects of record.

GGE created the Master Plan, Architectural Design, Exterior Design, and Concept Design for Studio City Macau, a resort that is a monument to Hollywood’s myth making on the silver screen. Perhaps the most eye-catching feature of GGE’s design is the “Golden Reel,” the world’s first Figure 8 Ferris Wheel that stands at 130 meters and is nestled between Studio City’s twin hotel towers. The Ferris Wheel’s glass and steel tower structure measures 165 meters in height. Engineered by Intamin and project managed by Studio City Entertainment, the Golden Reel is also the world’s first major Ferris Wheel designed into a building’s façade.

GGE was selected as the lead design firm by Studio City International Holdings Limited, a company led by Lawrence Ho and a subsidiary of Melco Crown Entertainment Limited, (Nasdaq: MPEL) (“Melco Crown Entertainment“), a developer, owner and operator of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities in Asia. Studio City was built upon Lawrence Ho’s vision for a resort inspired by the world of motion pictures. Goddard worked closely with Mr. Ho to fulfill that vision.

“The Studio City management team and GGE share a vision when it comes to Hollywood and the world of motion pictures, which has resulted in one of the most architecturally stunning integrated resorts we have ever created. The design for Studio City will also act as a magnet for visitors staying in Hong Kong and in cities throughout China who might not otherwise have planned a visit to Macau,” said Goddard.

Ideally located in the Cotai Strip, Macau’s version of the Vegas Strip, Studio City boasts unparalleled, world-class entertainment facilities. Visitors will get to choose from a variety of leisure destination experiences designed to enhance and establish the territory as an international tourism center. For more information, please visit: http://www.studiocity-macau.com/

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We are very excited to announce that the February 3rd 2015 edition of the Los Angeles times is featuring Gary Goddard Entertainment on the front page. With quotes from are Chairman and CEO Gary Goddard the article focuses on the rising demand for Theme parks in Asia and the Middle East. Please enjoy this exceptional article on Theme Parks in China

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Earlier today, visionary developer Lawrence Ho announced his boldest and most spectacular project to date: Macau Studio City- an all-new casino resort set to debut on Macau’s famed Cotai Strip this summer.
One truly groundbreaking aspect of this unprecedented resort is the creation of a short film starring some of the biggest movie stars in the world, including Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and legendary director Martin Scorsese. Check out the preview released as part of today’s media event!

More details regarding the project can be found in the official press release:

“We are pleased to announce our involvement as the project’s designer, and we invite you to not only read the official press release below,
Studio City Macau, when it opens in mid-2015, is set to take Macau’s entertainment destination proposition to unprecedented new levels, by providing a ‘next generation’ of outstanding entertainment-driven leisure destination experiences that will help the territory’s evolution into a truly international tourism center.

The Hollywood-themed studio-concept resort is a thrilling new cinematic inspired entertainment and leisure destination and is designed to be the most diversified entertainment offering in Macau. Ideally located on Cotai, close to the Lotus Bridge immigration point connecting Hengqin Island and a future station-point for the Macau Light Rapid Transit (LTR), Studio City will deliver more world-class entertainment amenities than any integrated resort in the market.

Studio City’s stunning Art-Deco facade includes an iconic “Golden Eye” gondola ride which straddles the resort’s two-tower hotel at a height of some 130 meters. The integrated resort will provide the ultimate in sophisticated leisure entertainment, hotel, retail, dining and lifestyle experiences.

The resort’s innovative entertainment offerings include “Studio City Entertainment Center”, a 5,000-seat multi-purpose entertainment center designed to host live concerts, theatrical and sporting events; and “Studio 8″, a 300-seat live-audience TV broadcast studio for reality and game-show productions distributed in the Asia region. The entertainment experiences also include a magic theatre “The House of Magic” and a Warner Bros. Batman-themed motion ride “Batman Dark Flight”, together with a 30,000 square foot Family Entertainment Center for kids filled with Warner Bros.’ and DC Comics’ franchise characters and play-rides.

Studio City is destined to deliver an unparalleled leisure entertainment and hospitality experience, strengthening the depth and diversity of Macau’s leisure, business and tourism proposition as a leading visitor destination in Asia.”

We are pleased and proud to have played a key role in creating the concept, master plan, and developing the design for the project. In addition to being an incredible destination resort the project will feature an amazing retail world based upon the movies, an incredible set of unique attractions, and the GGE-designed double circle ferris wheel, the first ever in the world, and the first ferris wheel to be installed as a major part of the actual architecture of the building. Studio City will become the next great iconic attraction in Macau and follows the success of our prior creation, GALAXY MACAU, which opened in May of 2011. We will continue to update our blog as new developments continue through the opening later this year.

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Today is a milestone day in the history of theme parks, as at this very moment our Founder & Chairman, Gary Goddard, is in Riviera Maya, Mexico announcing our most incredible project to date- the world’s first CIRQUE DU SOLEIL THEME PARK RESORT.

This unprecedented collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, the Goddard Group, and Grupo Vidanta will be unlike anything else the world has seen before.

While going through some older files at GGE we came across something very unique – an original rendering by Ralph McQuarrie for a James Bond project. We researched it and found that in late 1986 Gary Goddard was engaged by Universal Studios to create four major new attraction concepts for the planned UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA project which was being developed at MCA. Among the four projects one was to be a Live Action Stunt Show based upon the JAMES BOND motion picture franchise. Goddard envisioned a show that would be a spectacular stunt show, while also being a tribute and homage to the Bond films. Once he had the basic idea roughed out he called Ralph (whom he had brought on previously to work with him on the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE motion picture) to create a conceptual rendering for the project. Here’s Gary Goddard speaking on the collaboration:

“I had worked with Ralph in 1986 I believe — for three weeks when he had a break from COCOON — on the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE motion picture. When Universal called us to take on several projects, one of them being this James Bond Action show, I immediately thought it would be great if Ralph could come on board with us. I called Ralph and explained what we were doing, and when he heard it was James Bond he said “sounds like fun” – though he noted he hadn’t really done a live stage show before. I told him not to worry – that I would talk him through it – and that at this point we wanted a grand conceptual rendering for the show we were creating and that details would come later. I met with him and took him through the major beats of the show and set up the finale scene which is where I wanted him to focus. In the illustration several things have happened by this time – all setting up the grand finale: The Giant Circular Roof has opened, the massive hangar doors have parted – revealing the nuclear warhead missiles – one of which is moving onto the gantry for launching, and the massive submarine has surfaced. In addition, Bond’s most memorable villains are gathered (via the multiple screens) to watch both his demise and the launch of the nuclear warhead that will put the two super-powers at their mercy. I wanted Ralph to capture the live audience, seated before a massive set that would bring to mind the greatest Bond films. He managed to do it – in one rendering – he managed to convey the size, scale, feeling and overall spectacular nature of the show that we were proposing. He also got in the huge circular opening above, the massive indoor lagoon and submarine, the missiles and gantry, and the screens with the classic villains. And he got the live audience in too. The great thing is that when anyone sees the rendering they immediately know that it’s something to do with James Bond. The rendering communicates JAMES BOND. He was able to capture that “Bond” feeling and the sense of the Bond movie mis-en-scene in one rendering. Ralph was amazing in his ability to stage, design, and light a scene in a way that would bring it to life for the viewer. I think this particular piece is among his best works – it’s really inspired.”

From the Concept Presentation Treatment (February 2, 1987)

The production is envisioned as a spectacular tribute to the classic series of James Bond motion pictures as produced by Albert R. Broccoli starting in 1962. The production will be a fast-paced action show featuring a wide array of large scale stunts, pyrotechnics and unique special effects. Live performers will present the best elements associated with the James Bond films in a fifteen-minute show filled with technological wonders, grand-scale explosions, high-tech transformations, and of course, humor; all the trademarks of the James Bond films. The attraction will include such essential Bond elements as: an exciting chase, Bond seducing the “bad girl” to such a degree that she turns around and helps him later, a collection of super-strong villains and their even stronger henchmen, a countdown which must be stopped (in order to save the world), and a finale sequence with surprise “sting” at the end – just when you think Bond is safe from danger, the final trap is unleashed. The 007 JAMES BOND ACTION SPECTACULAR will give audiences a large scale, fast-paced adventure alongside James Bond in an epic production that promises to be a “main event” at the new Universal Studio Tour in Florida.

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On July 1st we unveiled our all-new LET’S DREAM! nighttime spectacular at South Korea’s 롯데월드 (lotteworld).

To begin this amazing show LET’S DREAM! incorporates an amazing aerial lantern show. The Lanterns, taking on a life of their own, move through the air performing and arranging themselves in various aerial formations.

Lantern Bike and A flying Magic Lantern

A Lantern Dancer and Lantern Bike

Choreographed Flying Lanterns

The Dream Castle

LET’S DREAM! then guides park guests on a magical journey to an enchanting world where dreams come to life in ways never before imagined. Today we offer an extensive look at the amazing props, costumes and floats made just for the parade- each one inspired by 롯데월드 (lotteworld)‘s park, characters, and attractions.

Three weeks ago, scaffolding came down on 42nd Street revealing the magnificent exterior of The Times Square Theatre on 42nd Street, the home of BROADWAY 4D, our latest and most spectacular new production. Construction is now beginning and within a year the theatre (built in 1920) will be restored and enhanced in a way that brings back its original splendor, while also transforming it into a true “theatre of the 21st Century”. At the same time, as the project prepares to move into production, pre-recording has begun for the musical numbers that will form the heart of the show. Hugh Jackman recently posted this Instagram image and comment following his pre-record date at a studio in New York. Company founder Gary Goddard is in New York working with an amazing team of designers, producers, choreographers and performers. More details to come in the weeks and months ahead.